Advice: Travel Insurance - possible claim

jeannieblue · 25 May 2008 at 11:31PM

Oh help please.

In limbo land at the moment..........

Due to got on hols in a tad over four weeks.

I've paid for all of it so far, flights and villa. Three of us going. A relative, not a blood relative of mine but of the others going, has been taken very ill. We don't know what the outcome is going to be. Could need care for a long time etc.

Decisions will have to be made at some point. Ideally it would be best at the moment to cancel, but its losing the money. I'm not being callous, but I considered this as my last holiday. I had the money earmarked and put to one side, I also know that I won't in a month of Sundays be able to save up for another one. If I can afford another hol it would be courtesy of the lottery! I'm not a spring chicken but I am a realist.

Another choice is for just two of us to go and one stays behind to look after relative if need be. Not ideal either....

We don't plan to make a decision just yet, but am trying to test the water. I have holiday insurance with my bank account, I've not checked it yet. If I'm the one that has paid, can I get it back I wonder, even tho its not a blood relative of mine?

I won't bore anyone anymore - but I'd like some advice please.

Thank you in advance

jeannieblue · 26 May 2008 at 11:08AM

Has anyone else been in a similar situation?

I've never in all my years (getting on now) had to make an insurance claim, I'm just testing the water here, in case we do have to cancel, then I can be a bit prepared.

Villa and flights booked separately, don't know if that makes a difference or not. All done online. I'd rather not contact the company we have booked with until we have an idea as to what is going to happen. Hope I don't come across as insensitive.

Thanks

cheap_charlie · 26 May 2008 at 11:25AM

Best advice I can give you is to check your policy documents. You may be covered but I have to say I would be surprised.

I never had a family policy with my husband because he had a pre-existing condition. He died in March and I had to cancel 2 holidays we had booked but luckily for me he hadn't paid for the accommodation and the airlines did refund the vast majority of what we had paid for flights upon receipt of the death certificate. As a result I didn't have to make any claim on my travel insurance.

You don't come across as insensitive to me, and I would suggest you take the holiday if you can...the only reason I cancelled the holidays we had was one was booked for a week after he died and the summer one was to Thailand and I couldn't face going there without him. Instead I went to Spain for a week just last week and it did me a power of good.

jeannieblue · 26 May 2008 at 11:34AM

Thank you.

I'm going to dig out the details today. I have travel insurance automatically with my bank account that I have had for years and years. If they are as good as my bank, then I may be alright!

We don't know what way things are going to go but want to be prepared - all of us haven't had a holiday for years and are so tired, but family first. Its just the thought that if we do have to cancel and the money is lost, there isn't a hope in cats hell of affording another one.

It may turn out alright and we can go - but we just don't know. Bless him he is so poorly but looked better yesterday.

missyg_3 · 26 May 2008 at 12:20PM

Jeannie, I've looked at my own travel insurance policy and it doesn't look like I would be covered if this was me, but all policies differ so do dig out your policy wording. You might need to give your insurers a call to explain your specific situation.

I hope it all works out somehow, what an unfortunate situation. All the best for a full recovery for the person concerned.

jeannieblue · 26 May 2008 at 12:33PM

Thank you missyg.

I'm really going to get off my behind now and check up..... haven't seen the details since opened my bank account about 14 years ago, going to take some digging around!

jeannieblue · 26 May 2008 at 1:10PM

I'm no expert - but this doesn't look good to me

SECTION 1 – CANCELLATION

Wherever the Channel Islands is mentioned in this section, it will only apply if

you normally live there.

YOU ARE COVERED
Up to £5,000 if your travel and accommodation arrangements are cancelled
before your departure from the United Kingdom or Channel Islands, which have
not been used and which you have paid for or contracted to pay for, providing
the cancellation is necessary and unavoidable (and is not a result of mere
disinclination to commence your trip as arranged) and not recoverable from any
other source due to:
1. the death or disablement by bodily injury, illness or being subject to
quarantine of (a) you, (b) any person you are intending to travel or stay with,
(c) an immediate relative of yours or of any person you are intending to
travel with or (d) a close business associate of yours;
2. you being called for jury service or as a witness (but not as an expert witness
or where your employment would normally require you to attend court) in a
Court of Law;
3. your redundancy or the redundancy of any person you are intending to
travel with, provided that we are informed in writing immediately when
notification of redundancy is received and that you were not aware of any
impending redundancy at the time this policy was issued or at the time of
booking your trip;
4. your home being made uninhabitable, or place of business being made
unusable, up to 14 days before the commencement of your trip, due to fire,
lightning, explosion, earthquake, subsidence, storm, flood, falling trees, riot
or civil commotion, malicious damage, burst pipes, impact by aircraft, the
police requesting your presence following burglary or attempted burglary at

your home or place of business.
5. You becoming pregnant after the journey was booked and the end of the
journey falls during the eighteen weeks prior to the estimated date of
delivery or the journey start date is within 7 days after the estimated date of
delivery.

YOU ARE NOT COVERED FOR
1. claims where a medical certificate has not been obtained from a medical
practitioner, confirming that cancellation of the trip is medically necessary;
2. the first £50 of each and every incident for each insured person involved in
the incident (£10 for loss of deposit claims only);
3. anything caused directly or indirectly by:
a) any increased charges which may arise due to failure to notify your travel
agent or tour operator immediately it is found necessary to cancel;
b) prohibitive regulations by the Government of any country;
4. anything mentioned in the General Exclusions.

Tickdick00 · 26 May 2008 at 1:25PM

It says you are covered if it is an immediate relative of you or someone travelling with you.

I would suggest you pick up the phone to the claims line and ask them what constitutes an "immediate relative" .

You have got nothing to lose by asking, but would suggest you ask for their definition before explaining your situation!

(These "free" insurance policies offered with bank accounts are usually pretty basic, so I wouldn't get your hopes up too much)

jeannieblue · 26 May 2008 at 1:55PM

Its called a 5 Star Family Travel insurance! Someone called Defaqto recently increased the rating to 5 star. No idea what any of that means!

I'm going to call them - I'd say nothing to lose, but there is

jeannieblue · 26 May 2008 at 1:58PM

They are closed........... Their working hours are the same as mine......... It's always the way isn't it, and can never seem to get thru at lunch times!

I'll try in the week.

jeannieblue · 26 May 2008 at 2:06PM

Tickdick00 wrote: »

It says you are covered if it is an immediate relative of you or someone travelling with you.

I would suggest you pick up the phone to the claims line and ask them what constitutes an "immediate relative" .

You have got nothing to lose by asking, but would suggest you ask for their definition before explaining your situation!

(These "free" insurance policies offered with bank accounts are usually pretty basic, so I wouldn't get your hopes up too much)

I'd misread that - we may be ok then. The person that is ill is the father of one and the grandfather of the other that are travelling with me. So that is pretty immediate I would say.

Advice: Travel Insurance - possible claim

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free